Main highway to Alishan closed after landslides

SLIPPERY SLOPES:The highway leading to the recreation park is not expected to open for another few days, but there are alternative routes

Staff writer, with CNA

Fewer than 100 visitors a day arrived at the Alishan Forest Recreation Park over the weekend, because the main highway leading to the tourist spot was closed after Typhoon Saola-induced landslides, Chiayi County officials said.

Traffic on Highway No. 18, the main road serving the park, has been affected by severe weather conditions since June, said the Chiayi Forest District Office, which runs the park. The park just recorded this year’s 1 millionth visitor in mid-May — two to three months earlier than in past years, the office said.

Torrential rain on June 12 and Tropical Storm Talim later that month each led to the precautionary closure of the highway between the 66km and 88km marks for a total of six days before it was closed again early last week because of Typhoon Saola.

A landslide that occurred late on Friday at the 35km point near Chukou (觸口), where the highway begins climbing the mountain, forced the highway’s closure again after it was reopened just earlier that same day.

The highway is not expected to reopen for another five to six working days, and the local tourism industry has been greatly impacted, the office said. Only 38 visitors — mainly members of tour groups from Hong Kong and Singapore — had entered the park as of 2:30pm on Sunday, the office said, a time when thousands of visitors are usually recorded on an average day.

The Directorate-General of Highways suggested County Highway No. 159A as an alternative route for visitors planning to visit the area.

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